


Smile For Me Week

by phantomthief_fee



Category: Smile For Me (Video Game)
Genre: Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Nonbinary Character, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-19
Updated: 2019-09-30
Packaged: 2020-10-21 11:23:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 4,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20692715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phantomthief_fee/pseuds/phantomthief_fee
Summary: Various prompts for the Smile For Me week by @smileformeweek on Tumblr





	1. Photograph

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Boris Habit is secretly a cryptid 2k19

Boris Habit didn’t show up well in photographs. 

Not anymore, at least. He was sure there had been a time he’d looked normal in photos, but that had long since passed. It wasn’t normally a problem. He didn’t really need to be able to show up in pictures. However, right now he rather wanted to take a picture specifically of himself. 

“Dammit!” He muttered as his latest picture turned out wrong. He just wanted to send a photo to Flower Kid to show that he’d been doing better. He’d already taken pictures of the converted Habitat and the flowers he’d been growing lately. But he wanted a picture to show Flower Kid how well he was doing. There weren’t any bags under his eyes anymore and his skin was a much less sickly shade of green now.

“Something wrong?”

Boris screamed, almost dropping the camera in the process. He was borrowing it from Mirphy, so he didn’t want to break it. She’d probably kill him if he did. Thankfully, the person who’d spooked him managed to catch both him and the camera.

“Oh! Trencil!” Boris laughed out of sheer relief.

“My apologies,” Trencil said, gently putting Boris back on his feet. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“It’s alright,” Boris assured him. He started fiddling with the camera, his mind wandering back to his current predicament. There had to be some way for him to take a proper picture to send to Flower Kid. 

“Doctor?” Trencil was waving his hand in front of Boris’ face.

“Ah, I’m sorry,” Boris laughed again, perhaps a bit more sheepishly this time. “And, um, I’m not really a doctor anymore. I…probably shouldn’t have been given a medical license.” 

“You passed the certification. You deserve the title.” Trencil folded his arms behind his back. “But I suppose that’s neither here nor there.”

“Right.” Boris nodded. “So, what are you doing here? Our flower date isn’t until Saturday.” He and Trencil met up every Saturday to discuss gardening tips and talk about their lives.

“Nat has gone out with friends so I decided to drop by and see how you were doing. Clearly, I made the right decision.” Trencil smiled, gesturing to Boris and the camera. 

Boris blushed. “I just wanted to take a picture to send to Flower Kid…But none of them are turning out right.”

“Is there something with the camera?” Trencil moved to take it from him. Boris handed it over, starting to wring his hands once they were free.

“It’s not the camera, it’s me,” he said. “I don’t show up well on camera.”

“Don’t show up well?” Trencil frowned. Boris just handed him one of the polaroids. Instead of Boris’ smiling face, there was a vaguely Boris shaped blob of darkness with a red smiley face.

“I see.” Trencil frowned as he inspected the photograph. “That is…certainly an interesting predicament.” He had been ready to commiserate with the other man since he didn’t show up in photos either. But this was rather different than his own situation.

“I want to show Flower Kid that I’m doing better,” Boris explained. He and Flower Kid emailed from time to time, but he’d wanted to show them just how much progress he’d made in the past few years. He was proud of the progress he’d made. He was in a much better place now thanks to Flower Kid.

“I see.” Trencil smiled softly. Nat and Flower Kid were rather close, so he’d heard about these emails. Flower Kid liked emailing with all of the former Habitat inhabitants that they couldn’t physically visit.

“Well, perhaps you could go visit them,” he suggested. “A picture is worth a thousand words, but it cannot beat the real thing.”

“Oh, I don’t know.” Boris started playing with his hair. “What if they don’t want to see me?”

“I can assure you, Boris, Flower Kid would be happy to see you,” Trencil said. “It would certainly be better than a photo.” 

Boris considered this for a moment. He had been meaning to visit. He’d managed to grow some rather nice marigolds he thought Flower Kid might like. Maybe now was the best time to give it to them.

“Okay! I’ll go visit them!” He brightened, giving Trencil a big grin. He’d gotten a bit more confident about his missing teeth. 

Trencil smiled back. “Shall we?” 


	2. Choices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This got a bit darker than I expected, but Boris does get to be happy

Boris Habit had felt most of his life that he had no say in what became of him. It seemed every choice was already made for him. 

His parents had decided he would be a dentist, and so he went to medical school.

Everyone said he couldn’t like other boys, so he tried to pretend he liked girls instead. 

He did what he was told, keeping his head down. If he just did what he was told, maybe he wouldn’t get hurt. Maybe the other kids wouldn’t push him or break his things or call him that word he didn’t even like to remember. Maybe his father wouldn’t hit him or call him a failure. Maybe his mother wouldn’t lock him in his room and deny him dinner.

Deciding to start the Habitat was the first big decision he made for himself. It had been an exhilarating feeling. He was finally taking control of his life and doing what he wanted to do. He was going to make people happy! He was going to make the world smile! He was finally going to be happy!

Perhaps that was why he’d gotten so carried away. He’d spent so much of his life feeling helpless. Even when out of the grip of those who had made him so miserable, he still felt as though he had no choice in some matters. Stealing teeth, that was the only way to make people happy. There was no other way.

Except…There had been another way.

There had always been another way. Flower Kid had taught him that. He had been so horrible to them, to Kamal. But they’d still saved him. Even after what he’d done to them, Flower Kid had still reached out to him with kindness. They’d still agreed to meet him for coffee months later.

“Thank you,” he said as they both sat down in the little cafe. “For coming, I mean.” He was thanking them for more as well. For choosing kindness when he had chosen anger and hatred. 

“You’re welcome. I did want to see you, though.” Flower Kid gave him a bit smile as they signed. The week after the Habitat closed, Boris had done some dental surgery on them to put implants back into the spaces his little stunt had left.

“So, how is the gardening going?” Flower Kid asked. Boris lit up, starting to launch into a long explanation of the flowers he was growing and what he was learning. 

Flower Kid listened patiently, smiling and nodding. They’d been a little worried about Boris after talking him down from the proverbial ledge. They’d made sure to check in with him regularly in the first month or so to make sure he wasn’t slipping. Thankfully, they hadn’t needed to. Boris had been making his own efforts to get better. He’d even started seeing a therapist! It made them very happy to know that he was striving toward his own recovery. 

This time, he would make the right choices. 


	3. Teeth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Putunia has gotten adopted by Kamal and Boris after the closing of the Habitat because her parents are trash

“Putunia, come on. You need to get in the car.”

“NO! I DON’T WANNA!”

“Putunia, please.”

“I DON’T WANNA GO!!”

Kamal sighed heavily, staring at the little girl currently rolling around in the grass beside the driveway. Putunia had a dentist appointment in about half an hour and he absolutely couldn’t get her in the car. He’d known when Boris had announced they’d be adopting Putunia that parenthood wouldn’t be easy, but he hadn’t anticipated quite how difficult it would be. This, however, was a new development.

“It’s just a checkup.” Kamal tried to reassure her. “There won’t any needles and no one’s going to take your teeth.” Putunia briefly stopped her rolling to fix him with the kind of solemn expression he’d never expected to see on the face of a child so young.

“You can’t promise that,” she said. 

Kamal grimaced at her response. Ever since the Habitat had closed down, Putunia had had a fear of dentists. She’d heard and seen what Boris had done to Flower Kid and she didn’t want that to happen to her. Despite her tendency to physically fight her problems, she was still a little kid. The world was still a scary place for her. It was still a scary place for Kamal, but that was beside the point. 

“Is everyone ready?” Boris burst through the front door, smiling ear to ear. Kamal had promised they’d go by Flower Kid’s flower shop to see what new flowers they had, so Boris was rather excited. His smile fell when he saw Putunia in the grass and Kamal by the car. 

“She doesn’t want to go to the dentist,” Kamal explained.

“Oh.” A shadow of guilt flashed across Boris’ face. He knew exactly why Putunia didn’t want to go to the dentist.

“You can’t make me go.” Putunia hunched down in the grass. “I’ll beat you up.” She waved her boxing glove clad fist in the air menacingly.

“It’s just a checkup.” Boris began to play with his scarf. “No needles or teeth pulling.” He echoed Kamal’s earlier almost word for word.

“It’s okay.” Kamal murmured, moving to gently pat his back. Boris had been working through his guilt about the Habitat with his therapist, but it was definitely still there. Boris mumbled something, continuing to play with his scarf. He always seemed to do that when he was feeling anxious.

“You can’t promise they won’t take my teeth.” Putunia narrowed her eyes, hunkering down further. Kamal chewed on his lip, looking at Putunia and Boris. The appointment was soon and he really didn’t want to reschedule. He took a deep breath. Okay, he could do this.

“You’re right, I can’t.” He knelt down in front of Putunia. “But you know what? I’ll be right out there in the waiting room. Boris will too. And if somebody tries to take your teeth, we’ll be right there and we’ll kick their butts.” Putunia perked up a bit, rising up from her place in the grass. She looked from Boris to Kamal and back again. 

“I don’t think you could beat anybody up,” she said. 

“Well, if we can’t save you, you can probably save yourself.” Kamal pointed to her punching glove. “You’re a hero, right?”

“Yeah! I am!” Putunia sprung to her feet, hands on her hips. “I’m a hero!”

“You’re not going to let anyone take your teeth.” Kamal nodded, trying to hide his growing smile. 

“Yeah!” Putunia pumped her fist in the air. “Let’s go!” She turned and charged into the car. Kamal stood up, dusting his pants off.

“Alright, let’s go.” He glanced back at Boris. Boris was staring at him in complete and utter awe.

“What?” Kamal couldn’t help but smile. 

“You handled that so well.” Boris took Kamal’s hand in his, smiling wide. 

“I’ve dealt with anxieties before.” Kamal shrugged slightly as he felt his cheeks beginning to heat up. “I know how to deal with them.” Boris’ smile softened, and he was about to continue before Putunia interrupted them. 

“Are we gonna go or not? I got buckled in and everything!”

Boris and Kamal exchanged a look, both laughing. 

“Yes, we’re going to go,” Kamal said. “We’ll be right there.”

“Should I drive?” Boris asked. 

“On the way over. I’m sure you’ll want to hold your plants on the way back.”

Boris nodded, getting into the driver’s seat. Maybe while they were out they could swing by Borbra’s place. He was sure she’d found some new interesting birds since the last time he’d seen her.


	4. Habitat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Habitat is sort of in the background. But enjoy these ladies being awesome!

Jerafina was honestly pretty glad she’d come to the Habitat. Sure, she’d known _something_ was hinky, but it hadn’t really mattered. Because she’d gotten to meet Lulia and Tiff. Meeting them was the absolute best thing ever. She’d gone to Tiff’s shows before and she’d seen some of Lulia’s work and thought both of them were the coolest. 

“You girls are the beesst~,” She said as she slumped over the table. “You’re so talented!” They were drinking in the Lounge, Jerafina having coaxed Lulia down from the roof.

“Oh, thank you.” Tiff smiled softly. “It’s always good to know my work is appreciated.”

“Well, I wouldn’t say I’m talented…” Lulia stirred her drink. She was having one of her more melancholy days. 

“What?” Jerafina sat up abruptly, slamming her hands on the table. “You’re totally talented!”

“I’ve basically thrown away my career,” Lulia sighed, continuing to languidly stir her drink. “I hardly get any work anymore. And I have no romantic prospects whatsoever.” She sighed again. 

“Don’t say that.” Tiff frowned. “You may be in a bad spot right now, but that doesn’t mean it will be this way forever. Your fortunes will eventually look up.” 

“If you say so.” Lulia shrugged dejectedly. Jerafina narrowed her eyes. This was something she absolutely could not let stand. She marched around the table, grabbing Lulia’s hand. 

“Lulia.” She stared at Lulia over her glasses, hoping to look cool even though she couldn’t see without them. 

“Y-Yes?” Lulia’s cheeks began to turn red. 

“You are beautiful, talented, and absolutely worthy of love.” Jerafina continued, more serious than either Tiff or Lulia had ever seen her. She certainly sounded like a teacher, which was reawakening some of Lulia’s more repressed fantasies.

“She’s right.” Tiff agreed. “And like I said, this isn’t going to last forever.”

“I…Yes, of course.” Lulia mumbled, completely transfixed by Jerafina’s gaze. She’d never noticed how long Jerafina’s eyelashes were before. She had such lovely, plush lips too. What would it be like to kiss her? Her heart skipped a beat when Jerafina’s face lit up in a smile. 

“Good! You gotta have some confidence in yourself, Lulia!” She squeezed Lulia’s hand. “You’re my best girl! I hate seeing you so down!” 

“Thank you.” Lulia smiled shyly. “You’re a very good friend.” 

“Well, I try~,” Jerafina chirped. 

Tiff smiled to herself as she took a sip of her drink. They’d make a good couple, eventually. Maybe she could casually suggest they have that ‘spaghetti night’ Jerafina was always talking about.


	5. Bonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Parsley and Jimothan's relationship hasn't always been the best, but they're trying to make things better

Some mention is made to [this](https://sickly-madames.tumblr.com/post/187426059729/yall-ever-wondered-why-they-split-up) by [@sickly-madames](https://tmblr.co/mwe_ue3mhXlJ0yZxTLB1IOQ)

* * *

Jimothan and Parsley Botch hadn’t always had the best relationship. Jimothan loved his son dearly, he just…wasn’t always sure how to show it. It wasn’t “manly” to talk about your feelings or be emotionally vulnerable. Also, he might have gone a little overboard in his support when Parsley had decided to transition. He hadn’t quite been sure how to show Parsley he supported him, so he’d just latched on to stereotypically “manly” topics of conversation. That would work, right? This would show Parsley he supported him.

Unfortunately, this plan ended up backfiring spectacularly, driving a wedge between Jimothan and his son. Parsley felt like Jimothan wanted to turn him into to something he wasn’t. He began to draw away from his father, not telling him about aspects of his life. He didn’t tell him about the boyfriends he’d had. He didn’t tell him about Martin. 

The rift between the two of them grew and grew until they both ended up at the Habitat and Parsley decided he would rather confine himself to the Carnival and starve than actually face his father. It took the intervention of Flower Kid to get them to actually open up and talk once more.

Now, Parsley was sitting on the curb outside his house. All the Habiticians had left the other night, their problems solved. He felt as though a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. 

“Mind if I join you, son?” Jimothan asked, sitting down next to him.

“Sure.” Parsley shrugged. He’d come out here to watch the stars. And wonder what Flower Kid was doing at the Habitat. They hadn’t left with the rest of them. He hoped they were alright.

“I’m sorry,” Jimothan suddenly said. Parsley looked over at him, a bit startled by this sudden declaration.

“I know I haven’t always been the best father,” Jimothan continued, smiling apologetically. “But I want you to know, I’m proud to have you as my son. You’re a good man, with a good heart. I shouldn’t have tried to make you something you’re not.”

“I…Thank you.” Parsley smiled back. “Thanks, Dad. You have no idea how much that means to me.”

“Anyway,” Jimothan awkwardly cleared his throat. “I’d, uh, I’d like to be a part of your life again. If that’s alright with you.”

“I’d like that,” Parsley said. “But, um, there’s something you should probably know.”

“Sure. What is it, champ?” Jimothan was a little worried by how serious Parsley had suddenly gotten. 

“You know my, uh, _friend_ Martin?”

“Yeah?”

“We’re kind of…” Parsley bit his lip, trying to avoid eye contact as he weaved his fingers together. “**_Together_**.”

Jimothan stared at him for a moment, processing the information he’d been given.

“Well, good for you,” he finally said. “You two seem pretty happy together. You getting married any time soon?”

“We already were. And then we got…divorced.” Parsley’s face went a bit red.

“What? But you two seem so good together!”

“We’re still technically together, we just…ran out of paperwork.” Parsley went even redder. Jimothan stifled a snort. 

“Don’t laugh!” Parsley sputtered. 

“I’m not laughing at you, son,” Jimothan assured him. “Just reminds me of when you were little and ran out of homework so you started trying to do your taxes.” Parsley had been 11 at the time and thus had absolutely no idea how taxes actually worked.

Parsley grumbled at the memory, but couldn’t help but smile a little. It felt good to be talking with his dad again like this. They probably still had a lot of work to do, but at least they were on the right track.


	6. Flowers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flower Kid teaches Nat and Trevor how to arrange flowers

“Are you sure I’m doing this right? It doesn’t look as nice as yours.”

“You’re doing fine, loser. Stop stressing.”

Trevor grumbled to himself, leaning back over his vase. Flower Kid had invited him and Nat over their flower shop to teach them how to arrange flowers. Mostly because Trevor had asked. And because Nat wanted to understand more about her dad’s hobbies but didn’t want to actually admit she was showing interest.

“It does look nice, Trevor.” Flower Kid signed as best they could while their hands were full of flowers. They had to repeat themselves a few times, eventually getting frustrated and putting the flowers down.

Nat rolled her eyes, going back to her own arrangement. She’d asked Boris prior to coming over what her dad’s favorite flowers were since the two of them were gardening buddies. She wasn’t about to freely admit it, but this was a present for Trencil. Since the Habitat, she’d been trying to talk more with him and be more open about her feelings. It was a work in progress. She was still 13 and continued to suffer from the desire to seem cool around everyone. 

“Are you sure I can’t add any wolfsbane?” Trevor asked, looking at Flower Kid. “It would be so cool!”

“I’m very sure.” Flower Kid nodded solemnly. “It’s really poisonous and you’ll probably die if you accidentally swallow any part of it.”

“Aaw.” Trevor’s face fell. He was still seriously considering sneaking some wolfsbane in, but he also didn’t want to die.

“You better not sneak any garlic in either.” Nat gave him a look. “Dad and I are allergic to garlic.”

“Garlic wouldn’t look very good.” Flower Kid said. “At least not in a flower arrangement.”

Trevor narrowed his eyes, crouching behind his vase to watch Nat. Nat rolled her eyes again. Yeah, sure, she was half-vampire, but that wasn’t why she was allergic to garlic. It was just a thing she and her dad were allergic to.

“You’re gonna make yourself sneeze from the pollen, you doof,” She said.

Sure enough, seconds later, the pollen from the flowers sent Trevor into a sneezing fit. Flower Kid sighed, leaving the room to go get the allergy medication they kept around for people with pollen allergies. 

“Are you gonna give your flowers to your dad?” Trevor asked, sniffling. Nat stiffened. 

“What?! No! Why would you think that?!” She sputtered. “That’s stupid! **You’re** stupid!” She tried to turn her body away from him so he wouldn’t see how red her face was getting. She was cool! Cool people didn’t make gifts for their dumb dads!

“I think he’ll like it.” Trevor sniffled loudly again. Nat’s shoulders lowered a bit and she looked back at him.

“You do?” Her voice was quiet, hopeful.

“Yeah. Those look like the flowers he likes.” Trevor gave her a big grin, looking especially goofy due to his runny nose and watery eyes. 

Nat snorted. “You are such a dork.”

He could be such a puppy sometimes. It was pretty endearing. 

Flower Kid returned just then with the allergy meds, handing them to Trevor. Trevor immediately tried to give them back, insisting he didn’t have a pollen allergy. Flower Kid just gave him an incredulous look, pushing the medicine back into Trevor’s hands. Trevor grumbled, taking a tablet out and putting it in his mouth. 

Satisfied, Flower Kid turned back to Nat. “How is the arrangement going?”

“Oh, you know, fine.” Nat shrugged. She was actually quite good at it. She had been listening a little bit when her dad had talked about his flowers. 

“It looks really nice.” Flower Kid said as they looked it over. “Whoever you give it to will probably be really happy!” Nat looked down at the flowers, a soft smile spreading across her face. 

“Yeah, I hope so.”


	7. Free Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Chaos Trio have some shenanigans

“Are you sure we’re not gonna get caught?” Millie whispered as she followed Tim Tam down the street. “I can’t face that beast. Not even with you.”

“At work.” Tim Tam replied. “Won’t know.”

At present, they and Millie were on their way to Ronbo’s trailer to go steal something of his. Tim Tam had already been on their way over, mostly to steal Ronbo’s cigarettes, and had run into Millie on the street. Upon hearing they’d be stealing from Ronbo, Millie had been all in on this chaos plan.

“Okay, good.” Millie adjusted her baseball cap. “That thing’s the only thing that scares me, you know.”

“Halt, foul villains!” Putunia jumped out from a bush wearing her superhero garb. She’d found a new punching glove to fight evil with and was thus extremely prepared.

“Hey, Putunia.” Millie waved as the smaller girl picked herself up from the grass. “We’re gonna go steal stuff from that monster! Wanna help?”

“No! I’m a hero!” Putunia put her hands on her hips. “Heroes don’t steal stuff! I’m here to stop you!”

“Aw, c’mon!” Millie groaned, rolling her eyes. “This is a victimless crime!”

“Smoking bad. Doing him a favor.” Tim Tam nodded. That wasn’t the reason they had wanted to steal Ronbo’s cigarettes in the first place, but it was an added bonus.

“Stealing is bad!” Putunia put up her fists in a boxing pose. “If you wanna steal from Ronbo you’re gonna have to go through me!” Tim Tam narrowed their eyes, pulling out a knife. Both Millie and Putunia froze upon seeing it. 

“Where’d you get that?!” Millie asked. 

“Frog man.” Tim Tam answered. 

“This isn’t a fair fight!” Putunia huffed. “You’ve got a weapon!”

“Not real. Rubber.” Tim Tam bent the blade. “Not allowed sharp things.” They had in fact stolen a knife, but Kamal had caught them with it and gave them a rubber one instead. It looked real at least. 

“Okay.” Millie relaxed a little. She’d been a little scared it was gonna get serious. She was all for violence, but knives were serious stuff. She didn’t want her friends to get stabbed.

“I still gotta stop you guys,” Putunia said. “Heroes don’t let people steal.”

“What if you came along and caught us in the act?” Millie suggested. “Then you’d have proof we were gonna steal.” Putunia considered this for a moment. 

“Battle of the ages at the clown’s trailer,” Tim Tam said. This got Putunia’s attention.

“That’s great!” Her whole face lit up. “Okay, let’s go! We can have a big battle in the field!”

“Hell yeah!” Millie pumped her fist in the air. “Maybe I can get a weapon too while we’re there!” 

The trio set off toward Ronbo’s trailer, ready for their epic battle.


End file.
